84th Ingalls Family Reunion meeting minutes
The 84th Ingalls Reunion was held on Saturday, October 13, 2012, at the United Methodist Church of Greenville and Norton Hill. Sixty-seven people were in attendance. The night before brought the first hard frost of the fall, and it was 28 degrees F at 7:30 a.m. The day was mostly sunny, with increasing clouds later on and a chance of showers at night. The high temperature was in the low to mid 50s.
The Ruth and T. Merritt Elliott Family hosted. A large bale of hay, a saddle, and boots greeted everyone at the entrance to the church hall, and there were fresh flowers on the red and white checked table clothes. The decorations lent a rustic and festive air to the day's proceedings and related to the theme of the “entertainment” presented later on!
More signatures and handprints were added to the autograph quilts the Historian, Krista Ingalls Haushalter, is making for the family. The family photograph albums and framed copies of family deeds were again on display, and copies of the 2003 Genealogy and History of the Jacob Ingalls Family were available for twelve dollars each.
At 12:00 noon, President Jack Ver Planck rang the cowbell from the Jacob Ingalls’ homestead to gather everyone for the group photograph. It was decided to videotape the family again to submit to ABC television's "Good Morning America" segment "Your 3 Words," since last year's attempt did not come out well. Debra Teator took the video, and Kay Ingalls Sutton, the reunion photographer, took pictures of those in attendance throughout the day. Shirley Spad, Walter Ingalls, and Marjorie Dedie again held up the three signs for “Celebrating 84th Reunion.”
After the videotaping and photographing, Walt said grace, and everyone enjoyed the delicious dishes brought by various family members.
Once people finished eating, Jack again rang the cowbell to call the meeting to order. He thanked The Rev. Dr. Bob Milsom for the use of the church hall, Janet Lockwood for helping out in the kitchen for her thirty-fourth year, and the host family. Rev. Bob, who began his service with the church in July, joined us for lunch.
Those who traveled the farthest to attend the Reunion were Ronald and Jerrene (Jeri) Carford from Apollo Beach, Florida, and Kevin and Deborah (McAneny) Reeth from Reno, Nevada. The youngest person present at the Reunion was Clare Jane Ingalls, at one year old. She is the daughter of John and Jeanette Ingalls. The oldest members present were Shirley Spad, 89, and Marjorie Dedie, 88. Helen Ingalls (Stanley Ingalls' wife), Patty Mc Aneny (Michael Mc Aneny's wife), and Ryan Mc Aneny (Daniel and Diane Mc Aneny's son) attended the Reunion for their first time. A special "shout out" went to Ryan for helping with the name tags!
The Secretary, Paige Ingalls, read the minutes from last year’s Reunion, which were approved as written. She sent around the book for everyone to sign and a folder with “Ingallsiana,” including an article about Scott Tuttle, recently named the recipient of a national Young Jersey Breeder Award. Scott, his wife Eve, and their daughter Hannah Claire call Valley View Farm home, where they tend 120 head of cattle in Ashland, NY. Although flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene drowned their cornfields in the lower forty acres in August of 2011, they are slowly getting back on their feet. Congratulations to Scott on his award!
Paige noted that last year's presentation about John I's general store was submitted for consideration for publication in the Greene County Historical Society Journal. Maureen Ver Planck, John I's daughter-in-law, is the author.
Paige described visiting the American Immigrant Wall of Honor on Ellis Island last month. An Edmund Ingalls from England appears there, but no one was sure if this is "our" Edmund Ingalls and, if so, who sponsored the Wall inscription.
Paige then shared correspondence received during the past year. Carol Elliott of Virginia e-mailed two photographs and asked if anyone could help label the family members shown. Paige also read a letter received from Arlene Ingalls Schrader of DeWitt, MI. She asked to have her name removed from our mailing list, but also wrote about a supplement to Burleigh's 1903 Genealogy and History of the Ingalls Family in America. This new publication (October 26, 2007), which she edited along with Linda Ingalls Wright, Anita M. Ingalls, and Julia Gillett Rodriquez, is called Ingalls Descendants. It is available on line at www.Lulu.com. She noted that Jacob Ingalls is not listed in the book. Debbie Reeth told us she has a copy of this book.
Paige also pointed out that occasionally something serendipitous happens in our lives, without our realizing it. This occurred recently when James Marcello, Jr. and his family moved into their home on Stedman Road on the way to Medusa, NY. Unbeknownst to them, it is the homestead known as the "upper place," which belonged to his great great grandmother, Carrie Spalding Ingalls. Carrie, also known as "Little Grandma," mentions the upper place several times in her diaries. In a September 14, 1914 entry, she writes about traveling to the upper place and "[I]t is beautiful in the wood. A great variety of life is mine. Sometimes in the wilds of the forest & again nearer the metropolis." The Marcello family was wished a long and happy time in their new home.
The Treasurer, Kevin Ingalls, could not be present, so Alliene Applebee gave the report:
There was $1,409.60 in the savings account prior to the Reunion.
Today’s Collection totaled $404.00
Dispersals totaling $307.00 were made for--
Printing of the invitations ($77.00)
Postage for the invitations ($80.00)
Janet Lockwood’s services ($75.00)
Rental of the church hall ($75.00)
Host families’ expenses (food and supplies)--the host family graciously asked not to be reimbursed for these
This left a grand total of $1506.60 in the savings account.
It was moved and seconded to accept the Treasurer’s report.
Jack inquired if there was any “old business” to be addressed, and there was none.
Jack then asked if there was any “new business?” A suggestion was made to map the original Ingalls Homesteads, which those present agreed would be a worthy project. Jack also shared photographs of the sisters Carrie Ingalls Goff and Lillian Ingalls Ver Planck from the Joseph Truman Ingalls branch of the family. Peggy Hohenstein brought an antique doll to show. Jeri Carford's and Peggy's mother, Beatrice Kenton Wood, was a doll maker and sold doll clothes in Coxsackie, NY, and this porcelain doll belonged to Beatrice's mother, Jerrene Brooks Kenton. What a lovely family heirloom from the John Ingalls branch of the family!
Walt and Krista brought up an Eagle Scout project completed at the Prevost (Locust) Cemetery between Norton Hill and Greenville, NY, over the past year. Stephanie Ingalls and they attended a ceremony honoring the veterans buried there, several of whom were Ingalls ancestors, including Jacob Ingalls.
The Ronald Carford and William Hohenstein Families volunteered to host next year’s Reunion, to be held on Saturday, October 19, 2013. The Warren and Clarence Ingalls Families offered to host in 2014.
The Officers elected for next year were:
President-- Deborah Mc Aneny Reeth
Vice President-- John Ingalls
Secretary-- Paige Ingalls
Treasurer-- Alliene Applebee
Historian-- Krista Ingalls Haushalter
A big thank you was given to Kevin Ingalls, in absentia, for his many years of service as Treasurer, and Alliene was thanked for volunteering to take over these duties.
Krista led the Roll Call of Families, followed by the report of births, deaths, and marriages. The following numbers indicate how many people from each branch were present at the Reunion:
Enoch Ingalls Branch 0
Henry Ingalls Branch 4
John Ingalls Branch 8
Lucinda Ingalls Hunt Branch 3
Eleanor Ingalls Winegard Branch 6
Diantha Ingalls Smith Branch 0
Joseph Truman Ingalls Branch 19
Ransom Benjamin Ingalls Branch 30
William Henry Harrison Ingalls Branch 0
Thaddeus Warsaw Ingalls Branch 0
Cyrus Ingalls (Westerlo) Branch 0
This year's “entertainment” was a presentation by Debbie and Kevin Reeth. Since they live in Nevada and their children live in California, they thought it would be interesting to find out what other Ingalls families may have lived out West. They came across several notable people (e.g. Rufus Ingalls, who accompanied the 1854-55 Pioneer Expedition by Colonel Steptoe from Leavenworth, KS to California, prior to fighting in the Civil War), places (e.g. the Ingalls Mine in Esmeralda County, NV, which produced more than $86 million in gold), geographic features (e.g. Mount Ingalls, the highest peak in Plumas National Forest, CA), and locales (e.g. the Ingalls Ranch in Tuolumne, CA). They were able to speak with descendants of George Stephans Hollis Ingalls at the Ingalls Ranch and were informed it was recently purchased by the local Indian tribe.
Jack thanked Debbie and Kevin for their very informative presentation and closed the meeting. All present were encouraged to return again next year, for the 85th Ingalls Reunion, on October 19, 2013.